Excerpt from Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Their arms threaded, the couple had walked down the Schaumainkai, past a row of Nazi posters freshly plastered onto the sides of buildings. There was Hitler, surrounded by three small children, holding a little girl with a baby-­blue bow in her blond hair; a sweet-­looking BDM girl holding out a collection can for the poor; a broad-­chested German man standing protectively over his wife and young children. Some of the posters Irma had seen in the past were frightening: Jews with ghastly green faces and giant hooked noses. An old man in one of those funny hats and long beards smirking as he panhandled, sitting on sacks of gold. The most terrifying one was a Jew with pebble teeth dropping meat into a grinder that spewed out money.

Eduard had stopped to examine the posters, scanning the one of Hitler and the children. He waited until a carriage passed and the clopping of horse hooves quieted. Turning to Irma, he gestured to the images of the hopeful children. "What do you think of all this?"

She reached for Eduard's hand, calloused from gardening, and started walking again, not wanting to wait any longer than necessary to eat dinner. "It's nice to see people take pride in Germany again," she offered with a smile. "And you?"

Eduard looked behind him and lowered his voice. "The anti-­Jewish laws keep getting more draconian. Do you have any concerns about the Jews now being forced to hand over all their jewelry and silverware?"

Irma's head turned quickly to Eduard. "Did the Jews have any concerns about profiteering and stabbing Germany in the back during the war?"

Pulling his hand away from Irma's, Eduard began jingling the coins in his pocket again. "I'll take that as a no."

Weissfrauenstrasse was festooned with a spiffy row of swastika banners. The shock of the red flags against a purple twilight sky was beautiful. A few minutes later, the couple arrived at the Klosterhof, their favorite restaurant, the one where Eduard had proposed six months earlier.

The dining room was an illustration of modern German values—­cozy and modest, clean and orderly. The couple followed the host, their steps cushioned by the floral carpet. Dark wood paneling covered the walls, and the round tables were clothed in white linen, surrounded by sturdy chairs.

Soon, however, Irma found herself smiling through gritted teeth at the half-­eaten beef roulade on her plate as she pressed for a wedding date. They had decided three months earlier that they would wed at Saint Justin's Church in Frankfurt and honeymoon in Vienna. The only remaining question was when. Eduard's response was to move the potatoes and carrots across his dinner plate as if they were chess pieces. His deliberative nature had once been endearing to Irma. Now, it revealed weakness. But every man came with a list of improvements a new wife would have to make, so she wouldn't complain.

Reaching across the table for Irma's hands, Eduard had sighed, seeing her face pinched with frustration. "Please trust me when I tell you that I would love to marry you this evening if I could, but the timing is…" His words drifted off. "It's difficult right now."

* * *

Tonight, Irma had a plan to simplify matters. She would show Eduard her job offer before his children arrived for supper. They would have a half hour alone to talk, and she always found her discussions with Eduard went more smoothly when she caught him off guard. By the time Gerda and Heinz arrived, Irma would have a wedding date, and the evening meal would become a celebration.

Or, she thought, perhaps she should mention the letter at the dining table so Gerda and Heinz could chime in. Irma often lamented that her future stepchildren didn't really need a mother any longer, but there were also advantages to Eduard having children in their twenties. They were mature enough to understand that she wasn't trying to replace their mother, who had died from influenza when both of her children were still teens. She could have adult relationships with them, especially Gerda, who often pressed her father to stop dragging his feet and set a wedding date.

Excerpted from Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn. Copyright © 2022 by Jennifer Coburn. Excerpted by permission of Sourcebooks. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.